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Game management, Christie, Hayes, Forrest, Ajer

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Last night’s was one of the most professional away performances in Europe by a Celtic team in recent years.  We matched Rennes across the field and never looked under pressure, although few chances were made by either team, apart from the penalty incidents.

Fraser Forster made comfortable work with a first half shot, and importantly, ensured the rebound reached safety, while the best chance from open play in the game fell to Celtic.  Ryan Christie rolled the ball in front of Boli Bolingoli for the full back to clip a low cross into the box.  Odsonne Edouard darted for the near post but dummied the ball.  The onrushing Mohamed Elyounoussi was a split second away from scoring into an empty net.

If this was a boxing match, there would be in inquiry into the nature of the way Celtic conceded a penalty in the 37th minute.  Kristoffer Ajer pulled Niang’s shirt with one hand, dragged him by the wrist with the other, then scythed him down for good measure.  Three simultaneous penalty offences.

It was inexplicable, coming well into a game Celtic had yet to concede a chance worthy of the name in.  Ajer made sure that situation would change.  With 90 minutes gone and the game poised at 1-1, Kris again pulled the shirt of an opponent inside the box, an incident that alarmed me as much as the first, coming after we all hoped Kris had learned a lesson.

There is no viable explanation for what happened.  He should be allowed to think about what he did on the bench him on Sunday.

When asked at his pre-match press conference which Celtic players concerned him, the first name out of Rennes manager Julien Stephan’s lips was “Christie”.  This 90 minutes validated that view.

Ryan has an impressive burst of pace over 20 yards and used this talent to nick the ball away from a Rennes defender early in the second half in the corner of the box.  The defender was already committed and took the leg from Christie.  Referee, Jose Sanchez, had a perfect view of the incident but inexplicably waved play on.  It was a portent of things to come.

If Kristoffer Ajer left his smarts in the dressing room, James Forrest was the hooped equivalent of Einstein.  Inside the Rennes box, he dropped the shoulder, then burst the other way, showing his opponent enough of the ball to tempt an intercept, but with Houdini-like deft, the ball was gone, replaced by James’ leg, which received the tackle instead.  The tariff for away teams for this Spanish referee is clearly two penalty incidents for one award.  He pointed to the spot and Ryan Christie made us forget how fragile Celtic were from 12 yards in recent seasons.

By this stage, Rennes knew they were second best and reverted to farce.  Jonny Hayes has developed a healthy role as cult hero coming off the bench in recent weeks.  With Niang racing onto a loose ball on the Rennes right, Hayes put his heart and soul into a flying tackle, knocking the ball clear away from the striker, who writhed theatrically for two minutes, before protesting at the challenge once on his feet.

Replays showed it was a genuinely great tackle.  The incident was reminiscent of the Jozo Simunovic tackle on our old pal Kenny Miller at Ibrox, without the ridiculous whining from Andy Walker in commentary.

Bayo replaced Odsonne Edouard but within four minutes was booked for an incident where his elbow clashed with da Silva, who left the field on a stretcher.  The yellow card was technically correct, but it was a nuanced.  da Silva barged Bayo as they left the ground, spinning the Celtic striker, which caused the damaging collision.

With da Silva off the field and all possible substitutions made, Rennes were reduced to 10 men.  Goalkeeper Mendy then feigned contact by writhing around holding his face after Bayo chased a ball he fumbled.  Again the referee had a great view of the incident and waved play on, but with the keeper on the ground holding the ball, Sanchez had no choice but to check on his condition.  After speaking to Mendy, the referee showed Bayo a second yellow card.  Those who say, “Why badger a referee, they never change their mind?” are wrong.

A couple of general observations.  Scott Brown picked up an early yellow card.  We are going to lose him to suspension during this campaign, so should get busy with a backup plan.

I can go back 30 years and recite good Celtic performances in Europe that were ruined by poor game management late on.  With 15 minutes to go last night, Neil Lennon knew what to do to get the point.  It was a great start to the campaign, well done.

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  1. !!Bada Bing!! on

    HT- Agree, good CBs are like hens teeth,Maguire £80m …ffs,he is young , learning a new position, a wee bit impulsive last night, I was surprised at him last night TBH,love his passion and commitment, captain material for me,if we can keep him. I would also give him games in MF to rest Broonie, who had a great game last night. HH

  3. dena29 on

    JOBO BALDIE on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2019 10:18 PM

     

     

    an awful lot of work there

     

     

    well done.

     

     

    two more sleeps till you have to do it all again :-)))

     

     

     

    HH

  4. Hrvatski Jim on

    Henry Joy

     

     

    Sorry if my last post came over the wrong way. In no way did i mean that your posts are not uplifting.

     

     

    I was clumsily trying to make a point about the people on here who only post doom and gloom.

     

     

    Please accept my apologies if it came over the wrong way.

  8. Jobo Baldie on

    Thanks for the positive feedback bhoys and ghirls. I wish that I could respond to the individual emails that come in with the votes but too time consuming I’m afraid. If any of the clever techie folk out there know if there’s a way of responding to all emails sitting in a gmail inbox with one simple response (e.g. ‘thank you, your votes have been counted’) I’d love to hear from you – even if’t not on the blog, but instead to me at jobobaldie@yahoo.co.uk

  9. Hamiltontim on

    Petec

     

     

    Enjoy your day we’ll get a beer sometime.

     

     

    Bada

     

     

    I think Ajar has been absolutely fantastic for us since his return from Killie. His challenge last night was dreadful but I think it’s absolutely mental to suggest that his punishment for it should be to sit on the bench.

  10. Melbourne Mick on

    Hello again all you young rebels.

     

     

    What a feeling! just waking up a Celtic supporter and knowing you’ve

     

    got a hoopy happy weekend to enjoy.

     

    Watched CTV there and our new full back Elhamed explaining how he

     

    got nicknamed big Tam, very funny, and showing a photo of his young

     

    son in the hoops back in his homeland.

     

    Must say , what a find this player is and was my CQN poty top 3.

     

    Hope we can find more gems like him.

     

    Oz Tims

     

    Our CSC are at Mr Paul’s bistro again this Sun. MORNINGTON Main St.

     

    and as usual our big rebel Richie will be belting out the rebs.

     

    K.O 2.30 if you fancy a day of pure Celticness 8-))

     

    H.H Mick

  12. !!Bada Bing!! on

    HT- Ajer is bursting out the jersey,we can’t get enough Bhoys like that on the pitch, he will learn quickly, he stands up to be counted every game.HH

  13. petec on

    One thing that really Really annoys me is.

     

     

    Why, when there are no adverts, nothing on Sentinel Celts, they are not on NewsNOW.

     

     

    Hmmmmm

     

     

    Come on NFL and the BHOYS and the Celtic Board.

     

     

    TOGETHER

     

     

    CELTIC CELTIC

  14. petec on

    Neil was stunted by Haters.

     

     

    Neil was welcomed to the Job by Haters

     

     

    GDANSK – I think it is very possible.

     

     

    Neil is coming into his Prime Big Time.

     

     

    COYBIG

  15. Henry Joy on

    petec on 20th September 2019 11:50 pm

     

    ———————————————-

     

    “Fcuk em all (most of them anyway).”

     

    Neil Francis Lennon.

     

    2019

  18. petec on

    Henry Joy,

     

     

    That isnae Neil Frnacis Lonnens Style.

     

     

    The NFL has always been a Bridge builder.

     

     

    He is a Genius.

     

     

    Some would say a Gift.

  27. Ave! Ave! on

    Has anyone managed to identify and arrest the morons with the flares from the AIK game?

     

     

    Every time these idiots ‘make a statement’ with these flares it costs Celtic 1000s and tarnishes the impeccable reputation of the fans.

     

    I hope they are reading this blog, that’s assuming they can actually read of course, Neanderthals might find that a challenge.

     

     

    If you want to express your support for Celtic, rather than “look at me, look at me”, leave the pyrotechnics at home.

  29. cigalasporfavor on

    Clyde fishemen,s “festival of the sea”today and tomorrow at the riverside beside the tall ship.Tied in with Clydebuilt water festival and we,re supplying and serving fresh haddock,Scallops,crab and lobster.Embargo restaurant doing paella and breaded oysters and Seafood Scotland doing free cooking and tasting demo.s.

     

    A play on the tall ship,live music,face painters(who will be paid)and fun races on the river.Good day out for everyone and a free pint for CQN,ers!!

  30. Jobo Baldie on

    Good morning, friends, from a glorious clear skied and bright East Kilbride. After a 7 week injury forced layoff it’s a return to ParkRun for Jobo this morning and a return to the original Glasgo Parkrun at Pollock Park.

  32. Pogmathonyahun aka Laird of the Smiles on

    To those going to BMCUW’s Hootenanny today have a great day.

     

    Unfortunately, I won’t make it as I will be off to Munich next week with some fine CQN’rs in what might turn out to be the inaugural CQN Oktoberfest visit 😉 🍺🍺🍺🍀🍺🍺🍺🍀🍺🍺🍺🍀🍺🍺🍺🍀🍺🍺🍺🍀🍺🍺🍺

  34. Gene on

    Good morning from a☀️ North Staffs – a few hours of gardening and then off to see the mighty Vale.

     

    Best wishes to One Malloy

     

     

    Everyone going to the hootenanny – enjoy and drink irresponsibly 🤪

  35. OneMalloy on

    Pog, – Thank you for your good wishes, looking forward to meeting up on Wednesday!!

     

     

    Philbhoy and Gene – Thank you for good wishes

     

     

    HH

  36. Hrvatski Jim on

    Thanks to CQN, I have taken my first step to becoming a mega rich internet influencer. I can demonstrate a track record of success in raising the viewing figures of a video by 13% in just over 12 hours.

     

     

    HRVATSKI JIM on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2019 9:37 PM

     

    20th September 1973

     

     

    Jim Croce

     

     

    And he remembers her:

     

     

    https://youtu.be/50JZnHOx99k

     

     

    And I remember him.

     

     

    Musician, poet and observer of humanity. My musical hero above all others.

     

     

     

    OK,it only went from 101 to 114 views but it’s the start of my journey to global fame.

  37. SuperSutton on

    Bench Ajer?

     

     

    A guy who was part of the defence that allowed Rennes only one chance in 90 minutes (Forsters save). Just because he conceded a penalty?

     

     

    Not having it.

     

     

    What I will say is that every game he has a right good tussle with the opposition attack. Often looks to be fouling, pulling shirt, holding them down… but the ref rarely gives a foul against him and the opposition don’t seem to complain.

  38. SuperSutton on

    Jobo.

     

     

    Great work. I think my 3 picks made it into the top 5 for the first time.

     

     

    This is going to be a great talking point throughout the season.

     

     

    Good man.

  40. NorrieM on

    H

     

    Very H88py Birthday 🎂🎂🎂

     

    Hope S and the Ghirls spoil you

     

     

    I was actually reading some bookmarked CQN pages earlier

     

    What a great number of friends created through this blog

     

     

    Oh – enjoy Munich 🍺🍺🍺 ( not convinced by the company you will be with 🤔😂😂)

     

     

    Hail Hail

  41. bigbhoy on

    I see Tom Watson is complaining about attempts to oust him as Deputy Leader. What cheek, it’s long over due if you ask me. He has continual publically undermined Corbyn since his election and undermined the party policy. He is the loose cannon and is out of step with his party.

     

     

    I see he is supported by Jess Phillips of all people. She is also a self publicist and ego centric. She is the go to question in the media campaign to undermine Corbyn and the parties policies.

     

     

    We are seeing an unprecedented media campaign including the BBC against a Corbyn led party with all presenters being so Pro Tory that it is funny some time at its brazen spin. They even give Boris a good press.

     

     

    Tom Watson is rolled out regularly when BBC want to rubbish the Labour Party and he doesn’t let them down. Chuka and Lucinda bailed out with a few others but they have left behind many people who would prefer the party to fail

     

     

    Its time some others should be deselected and replaced with people who support the party and it’s policies

     

     

    Tom Watson will join the Liberal Democrats

  42. OneMalloy on

    NORRIEM on 21ST SEPTEMBER 2019 10:35 AM

     

     

    Cheers Norrie, I’m sure they will.

     

    Heading to the Hoot shortly.

     

    Munich in the company of those guys should be fun.

     

     

    HH

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